I still remember the moment I fell in love with Batman: Arkham Asylum. No surprise, it was pretty early in the game, I entered a warehouse type room filled with the Joker’s henchmen, but rather than merely having me go rough ‘em up, I was challenged to find a new way around them, to think in essence, like The Batman. I used my surroundings, I stalked my prey, I turned their own fear against them. It was after this section that I realized that developer Rocksteady wasn’t just giving me the opportunity to play as The Batman; they were giving me a chance to feel what it would be like to be the Dark Knight.

With the sequel, Arkham City, a lot could have gone wrong. We all know most sequels suck and what are the odds of two Batman games in a row being exceptional right? Turns out pretty good. Everything you loved about Asylum returns, but only now they’re tweaked and reconfigured almost to a point of perfection.  Arkham City is a sprawling and gorgeously detailed environment, and Bat-fans are sure to enjoy the little nods to the caped crusader’s past. It may not be perfect, as some of the flaws that hindered the last game are still naggingly present, but Batman’s latest adventure is still a damn good one.

Arkham City picks up mere months after the end of the last game; the asylum’s former warden Quincy Sharp is now Gotham’s mayor and has had the wonderfully smart idea to move all of the city’s most dangerous criminals out of Arkham and into a walled off area in the center of the city. Millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne isn’t a fan of the idea and stages a press conference outside of the newly named Arkham City to oppose it, but it’s not long before he’s arrested under strange circumstances and thrown in himself.  This begins Arkham City proper – and it’s one of the most dynamic openings in recent memory.  From the moment you enter the prison, and an inmate yells “Welcome to hell,” you can’t help but be amazed by the scale of it all, and how theatrical the presentation is this go-around.

THUNK!

These superb presentation levels extend themselves throughout most of the entire game. Arkham City is a decaying mecca in the heart of downtown Gotham City; and it feels like it.  There’s plenty of back alleys and side streets to get lost down if you’re the gutsy exploring type, and the whole thing is done in striking light balance and detail. It’s almost awe-inspiring in certain moments when you’re on top of a building high above Arkham city taking in the scope and detail of the world around you. Of course, it still does suffer from occasional graphical pop-ins, and that damn camera that always seems to turn at just the wrong moment – but more on that later.

Much like the original game, Arkham City will have you ting out thugs and henchmen en-route to taking on Batman’s rouges gallery in an effort to uncover the conspiracy at hand, and that’s one area that this game does a ton better than its predecessor. Batman has perhaps the most well known villains in pop culture, and the first game had a few of them, but they pale in comparison to what Arkham City is packing. Throughout your journey you’ll take on The Joker, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, the Riddler and a number of surprise guests from Batman’s past that are too cool to spoil here. Interestingly enough, the actual boss fights with the legendary characters aren’t that memorable and can be passed quite easily, but it’s the way Rocksteady built up these events with fantastic pacing that truly make them memorable.

Undoubtedly the game is at its best when it does what the previous one did so well, make you feel like the world’s greatest detective. It’s not uncommon to walk in to a room of ten or more thugs and still feel like you’ve got the upper hand. Though this go-round did feel a bit more linear than the previous game, just how many ways you can go about taking out your enemies is pretty impressive.  You could go in and let your fists do the talking or you could go the route I did and use your wits and gadgets to take them out strategically.  Disappointingly, it’s these large fights that also disappoint most in Arkham City as just like in before the game’s camera system can be incredibly frustrating. I remember one boss fight in particular where I kept having to run away just so I could get enough distance between myself and them to center the camera.

The level of detail throughout Arkham City is impressive.

After you’ve completed the campaign (which you can jump back in to with all of your upgrades thanks to a new game plus mode), Arkham City still offers a ton of content for your money. Challenge maps are back, and much more plentiful, as are the Riddler’s trophy challenges, but what you’re really going to want to check out is the Catwoman mission pack. A code for these missions is included in each new copy (you’ll have to buy one if you’re buying it preowned), and they add a ton of backstory to the game’s main campaign and are best experienced when played in the context of the game itself. I was also surprised at just how much I enjoyed playing as Catwoman; she’s a lot quicker than Batman and is a lot of fun to decimate baddies with.

Rocksteady also must be commended for their remarkable job in delivering fan service to the legions of Batman fans with Arkham City. Exlploring those back alleyways and side streets will prove to be a fruitful endeavor as there are plenty of references and nods to Batman’s impressive history in pop culture.  We’re still finding secrets in Arkham Asylum  to this day; meaning there’s plenty to be found in the game as well.

The Blast Factor: Any game that can make you feel like The Batman is doing something right – -and Arkham City does that very well.  Rocksteady has taken everything from Arkham Asylum and tweaked it enough to create one hell of a love letter to DC’s Dark Knight.  It’s a great licensed game, but perhaps most importantly, it’s a fantastic game in general.

Batman Arkham City is available now for the PS3 and Xbox 360 from Warner Bros Games and Rocksteady Studios. It will be available this November for the PC. A Xbox 360 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for this review.

Batman didn’t really need to get better.

Already one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, Batman has had a bit of resurgence in the last 5-10 years, accruing massive popularity deriving mostly from the latest installment of cartoons, merchandise and, of course, films.

Still, other than the super-cute Lego Batman game, the Caped Crusader has yet to leave his mark on the video game world, especially in the 21^st century.

Until now.

Say hello to Batman: Arkham Asylum, one of the newest releases from developers Rocksteady Studios and publishers Warner Brothers and Edios Interactive.‚  This multiplatform action adventure title has had a lot of hype surrounding it leading up to its release in late August.‚  So, the big question about Arkham Asylum wasn’t if the game was going to be highly anticipated, but rather if it could live up the excitement.

Having getting a chance to demo it at Comic-Con this year, I felt the heat that Arkham Asylum was generating even with the most casual of batman fans.‚  Yes, even I decided to join the Arkham hype-machine with my hands-on preview, hoping and praying that somehow this major release from a small, independent developer could live up to all I had come to expect from it.

Would Arkham be that great title everyone has been craving or would it end up being just another over-hyped letdown?‚  I guess you’ll have to read through and find out”¦

What would any video game review be without a short overview of the plot?‚  Batman: Arkham Asylum takes place on — wouldn’t you know it? “" Arkham Island.‚  This island is home to Gotham City’s most famous maximum-security correction facilities where Batman has recently delivered the Joker.‚  Though he is being processed and surrounded by many security guards, the Joker’s actions still seem suspicious to Batman.‚  Unfortunately for the Dark Knight, everyone’s worst fears are confirmed when the Joker escapes the clutches of the Arkham security personnel and creates total chaos.‚  It is up to players to use Batman’s strength, tools and allies to stop the Joker and his plans to destroy Gotham City.

The very first thing one notices when playing Arkham Asylum is its very effective cinematic approach to the game’s cut-scenes.‚  Driven by Mark Hamill’s incredible vocal portrayal of the Joker, Arkham Asylum really set a new standard when it comes to incorporating quality voice acting in games.‚  The dialogue was well written for every one of the characters and the visual aspects found a perfect blend between comic book stylization and realism. ‚ Furthermore, the in-game music for both the cinematic and action portions of the game coupled well with Arkham’s tremendous thespian endowment.

However, though most of the verbal talent was quite impressive, some of the most dry and uninteresting acting came from Batman himself.‚  Whether this is tribute to Batman’s stoic nature or just more proof that the Caped Crusader’s enemies are just much more interesting and complex than he, I wish we could’ve gotten a little more out of the protagonist’s lines.‚  Still, no one should be surprised if Arkham Asylum is used as a prime example of how effective direction and acting can help a great game become legendary.

Arkham Asylum did not only look good, but it felt good too.‚  Running on Unreal Engine 3.5, this title ran smoothly and beautifully.‚  Like many games that use the engine, Arkham Asylum has many characters that have an “epic” look to them.‚  That is, many of the character models are large, muscular and overall physically fit.‚  With this in mind, the folks at Rocksteady made a great choice with the Unreal Engine.‚  As I discussed in my preview for Batman: Arkham Asylum, Sefton Hill, director at Rocksteady games, told me that the developers wanted to make sure Batman looked and played like he was someone who was in chief physical condition.‚  Batman’s (as well as other character’s) sturdy, brawny build went well with the graphics engine without looking too over-the-top in terms of physique.

Batman would need to use all of that strength of his if he wanted to survive the high-intensity third-person gameplay that Arkham Asylum features.‚  Most of the combat involved an easy, free-flowing hand-to-hand fighting style.‚  With an Xbox 360 controller, a few taps of the X button would string together impressive and dynamic bone-breaking combat combinations that could be effective against many enemies at once.‚  When one of the Joker’s thugs is about to strike (as evident by attention-grabbing stripes protruding from said thug’s head), pressing Y will perform a jaw-dropping counter-attack, which can also be used in massive fighting combos.‚  When armed foes arrive, pressing B will make Batman spin his cape, disorienting anyone in range, turning potentially dangerous enemies into exposed and vulnerable beings.

However, though it can play like one, Batman: Arkham Asylum is not your simple brawler.‚  In fact, it is more of a stealth game (albeit a VERY aggressive stealth) than a fighter.‚  Being the world’s greatest detective, Batman has to do a significant amount of snooping and sleuthing during the game’s campaign.‚  This is where Detective Mode comes in handy.‚  This mode, toggled by the LB on 360 controllers, accentuates key details in environments necessary to solve puzzles, find clues and identify proper courses of action.‚  For instance, say you want to determine how to attack a group of enemies in the next room.‚  Simply activate detective mode to see where the thugs are, how many of them have weapons and even how scared they are (based on BPM).‚  This information will be key in determining how and when to attack.

Detective mode also comes in handy when following or tracking NPCs and completing the Riddler’s numerous and very addicting challenges.‚  Batman also has many tools at his disposal, progressively adding more and more to his repertoire throughout the game.‚  Look forward to using Batarangs, Batclaws and Explosive Gels to your advantage.

Finally, no review of Arkham Asylum would be complete without an overview of the extra goodies that are in the game.‚  First, Batman: Arkham Asylum rewards players who complete tasks and find clues with Character Bios.‚  These bios give each gamer deeper insight into the Batman Universe.‚  Each bio includes background stories and physical details of each enemy, friend and family member of Batman identified throughout the game.‚  This is a great way to get hardcore Batman fans and newcomers involved in the same game.‚  Also, players can find recorded audiotapes of therapy sessions and interviews from supervillians like Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and even the Joker himself.‚  Again, this is just another way to add depth and intrigue to an already interesting game.

While all the previously mentioned features were very entertaining, Arkham Asylum is not without flaws.‚  There are two main problem areas that come to mind: Boss Battles and Riddler Challenges.‚  Both of these aspects were both fairly lackluster in my very humble opinion.‚  Though the boss battles were challenging, they often got repetitive and came to unspectacular conclusions.‚  Similarly, the Riddler’s challenges were solid, but also become more tedious than entertaining at times.‚  I would have been more satisfied with my experience if my reward involved more than a few gamer points and a sense of achievement.

Blast Factor: Still, all things considered, Batman: Arkham Asylum is probably the best game of the year so far.‚  In fact, I think it would be fair to say that Arkham may be one of the best 5-10 games you can get for Xbox 360 and possibly the PS3, as well.‚  It is beautiful, addicting and, most of all, very fun. ‚ It is not often that a ultra-hyped game can truly live up to the excitement that surrounds it, but Arkham really broke from the mold here.‚  Batman: Arkham Asylum is a title that every gamer should own and, coming from an independent developer in Rocksteady Studios, it’s a title that every gamer can feel good about owning.‚  I’m glad to give Arkham Asylum the highest grade I’ve ever bestowed on a game.‚  Go buy this one ASAP.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for a suggested retail of $59.99

Hot off the heals of the mega-successful blockbuster The Dark Knight, comes word that Rocksteady Studios and Eidos are hard at work on a brand new Batman title. But don’t expect “Batman: Arkham Asylum”. due on shelves sometime in 2009 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC to have much in common with Christopher Nolan’s recent film — due to legal limitations, (EA holds the video game rights to the Batman films) Asylum will take it’s story cues from the Batman comics.

In a story written by Paul Dini, Asylum will take place in and around the it’s namesake — Arkahm Asylum; the home for Gotham’s worst of the worst, which has been taken over by the Joker. Game Informer Magazine describes the game’s action as similar to that of BioShock or original Xbox sleeper hit The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay in the sense that the action takes place in one consistent location, rather than numerous sprawling areas.

The folks at Rocksteady are aiming to make the game deeper than most recent superhero games by focusing on more than just combat. In true Batman fashion, players will be presented with detective-like puzzles and investigative work.That’s not to say that combat won’t be used at all though, as the developers are putting a heacy emphasis on stealth and speed, using a control scheme that utilizes only three buttons (attack, stun and throw) — a fine departure from the hack and slash style of recent games.

Recently, a set of in-game images were released to the net, showcasing a new, dark, yet realistic art style by the Team at Wildstorm comics. These images were promptly removed. Be sure to stay with us for more information on Asylum as it becomes available, same Blast Time, same Blast channel.